Ultrasound-assisted guidance is used for permanent or temporary placement of various medical devices, including catheters, needles, endoscopes and the like. For example, ultrasound-guided needle placement is widely used in the clinical setting, particularly for central venous catheter placement, tissue biopsy guidance and regional anesthesia. In these two areas, B-mode ultrasound has been useful to aid needle guidance, increase success rate, and prevent injuries to surrounding tissues. J. French, N. Raine-Fenning, N. Hardman, and N. Bedforth, “Pitfalls of ultrasound guided vascular access: the use of three/four-dimensional ultrasound,” Anaesthesia, vol. 63, pp. 806-813, 2008; M. Abrahams, M. Aziz, R. Fu, and J.-L. Horn, “Ultrasound guidance compared with electrical neurostimulation for peripheral nerve block: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,” British Journal of Anaesthesia, vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 408-417, 2009. However, conventional B-mode images may be susceptible to various difficulties in needle visualization. For example, difficulties in needle visualization and, consequently, accurate needle placement may occur if the needle is not in an exactly specified orientation to the transducer, the nerve or the central vein. Difficulties with ultrasound guidance in these areas often result from steep needle insertion angle and spatial offset between the imaging plane and the needle.
Various attempts to improve image visualization in ultrasound image data have been attempted. For example, medical devices can include a coating or dimpling pattern to increase visualization. Attempts have also been made to vibrate an inserted needle for Doppler imaging.